Hey there! You're the most knowledgable Megaten Scholar I know. Would you know why the demon Kanbari (カンバリ), a Toilet God, is shaped like a foot?
So that's Kaneko's version we all know. Others:
^the "original" from Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki.
^Mizuki's. A pretty straight recreation of Konjaku's. Maybe why Kaneko's is so different. But why is his so divergent, when many others from Devil Summoner aren't? Let's take a look at Kaneko's Kanbari design comment from Devil Summoner World Guidance:
加牟波理入道。便所の不安を取り除いて くれる神様。人に姿を見られるのを嫌う ので、便所に入る前には必ず咲ばらいを しなければならないとされる。 これ僕が子供の頃に読んでた、 最も 詳しい妖怪大事典には、こういう感じで 載ってたんですよ。だからカンバリ入道 っていったら、足の裏しか思い浮かばな い。こいつはトイレでニヤーって見てい るんですよ。怖いですよね(金子)
Machine translation: Kanbari Nyudo. A god who removes anxiety about the toilet. He hates being seen by people, so it is said that he must always perform a lavatory ritual before entering the toilet. This is how it was described in the most detailed Yokai encyclopedia I read as a child. So when I think of Kanbari Nyudo, the only thing that comes to mind is the soles of the feet. This guy stares intently at the toilet. It's scary, isn't it? (Kaneko)
So this is a typical opaque Kaneko comment. However, if Kaneko was reading that Yokai encyclopedia as a kid, that means he's recalling impressions from the 60s-early 70s, a period when his household likely only had a traditional squat toilet:
As an aside, I managed to avoid using squat toilets the entire 2 years I lived in Japan (The very first one I used was actually a very modern one with a heated seat and bidet, which I hated.). But notice how the squat toilet is used: supporting your squat are your feet, flat and straddling the bowl. So one interpretation is that Kanbari represents Kaneko's own memories of using such a toilet. Also, Kanbari is not only the color of poo, notice on the design he has the typical "swirly" (in this case, rippling) comical Japanese poop motif on key parts of his ""body"--going by the anatomy of the human foot, they would be the toes, the heel and the metatarsals. These are all parts of the sole that may come into contact with stray poo in case of a misfire.
Finally (and I honestly think this is the answer), Kaneko emphasizes the description given that Kanbari hates being seen by people when they use the toilet. And what can't be seen by someone using a squat toilet? The soles of their own feet. Phew. So that's my best guess when it comes to Kanbari: Kaneko's personal childhood experiences, the strategy of squat toilets, and, perhaps, the reinterpretation that he's the poop itself, or at least defined by it. It honestly could be seen many different ways!













